Again, thanks to my faithful reviewers.
Ahn-Li-Steffraini: Some call it paranoia, others experience... g
Chickens: LOL. Exactly like this! Hm... what about: "I see dead people."?
Guan: Glad you still like it.
Blackjack: Jep. An evil kender would be something special. Regarding your request: Just let me cite my favorite wizard, Lina Inverse: "Yeah, yeah whatever... FIREBALL!" Boom! "Mmm... fried reader... crunchy."
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One explanation to this chapter may be expedient to avoid confusion. The story draws a lot from the RPG D&D. For those of you who don't play it: In D&D a spell exists which is called "Wish". This high level magic enables the caster to grant himself a wish of some kind. Its rarely used and very powerful, only legendary mages can cast it. This kind of spell plays a major role in the story.
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Part 7 - New Strategies
"Orsany's Crystal?"
He sighed softly and started to explain.
"It is an artifact. As far as I know, you read about it first in an old scroll from Zahakar. It was supposed to be a very powerful wish. But it was destroyed in the past and parted in two halves. It is said the parts have some power of their own. Maybe each of them also works like a wish of lesser power. But their power is nothing compared to the potential of the original. Your goal was to reunite both halves and restore Orsany's Crystal. Some months ago you took possession of one of the halves. You said you were going to study it. You suspected that maybe you could use your part to locate the other half. According to my information you had no clue about the whereabouts of the counterpart and you said you didn't want to raid every ancient ruin in Krynn in search for it."
"Oh." was all Nima had to say.
"And what did it look like?" she added after a moment.
"The last time I saw it, it looked like a cheap white crystal. Nothing too impressive. It had about the size of a coin."
"Was it like this?" Nima searched the folds of her robe and presented her talisman to Dalamar.
He nodded.
"That is the very same."
Well, that were finally some news. And what kind of news. So the mage had had a talisman that looked exactly like hers, he had done some magic with his part and that affected them both. That was a perfect explanation why her gem had reacted so suddenly. But it didn't explain why she was here now, trapped in his body. And it didn't help her out of it, or...?
"Hey, I could use my part and try to reverse everything. If it is a wish, I could just wish everything to turn back like it was, couldn't I?"
Dalamar shook his head.
"I do not recommend that. I don't know much where wishes are concerned, but their power is mighty and not to be taken lightly. We do not know what your exact words were, or whether you used a second spell. We don't even know if the wish works a second time without being recharged first. Without this knowledge it will be nearly impossible to produce a precise reversal effect."
"It could also prove that the wish is damaged. You said it works only properly if the halves are united again. Maybe this happened because the magic didn't work as it was supposed to be."
Dalamar smiled.
"Shalafi, you have never been a man who took unnecessary risks. I think you would have ensured that the spell would work right. You would only have triggered the wish if you had been sure it would function in the way you intended it."
"But you can never know!" Nima shouted impatiently. "Something must have gone wrong. Otherwise I wouldn't be here! I mean like this!"
Before Dalamar could answer anything the coughing returned. It was sudden and unexpected. Nima felt her new body stagger and shake convulsively. If Dalamar hadn't caught her in time she would have fallen. She clutched his arms. And the elf's strong grip held her upright. Several minutes went by ere the fit stopped and the pain left her lungs. To her they seemed like hours. She felt a metallic taste on her lips. Blood? Had she just coughed blood? She still clung to Dalamar.
"Why didn't you give me the potion like the last time?" she whispered hoarsely.
"I'm sorry." he answered softly and a little bit ashamed. "Normally we keep a dose of it in your study, but we used the last one yesterday and I forgot to replace it. Forgive me my failure, Shalafi."
Nima patted his shoulder.
"Don't worry. You can not think of everything. I surely gave you enough trouble in the last twenty-four hours."
He helped her sitting down in one of the comfortable chairs.
"Tell me, what kind of disease do I have?" she asked him as soon as she had stabilized her breath.
He shrugged.
"I don't know, Shalafi. You never speak about this. When your frail health is mentioned you keep saying this is the price you paid for your power. You say it is something nobody can cure."
Though his face was tranquil she saw pity in his eyes. Pity and concern. Poor elf. He surely liked his master a lot.
They sat in the study for a while, both of them contemplating depressive matters. None of them saw a way to get the situation back to normal again. Nima realized that in this tower she could find many interesting things, but none would help her to get back home. She was sick and not even Dalamar knew how to help. It looked like she couldn't do anything.
Nima refused to accept that fact. If she couldn't figure a way home, she could still stick to her former plan and restore Raistlin's health. If she already was stuck in his body she had to learn more about him. She had to adjust to being Raistlin at least for a while. Besides, she was mortally curious how anybody would have come to lead a life like this.
"We don't get many visitors, don't we?" she asked Dalamar.
He looked at her surprised by her total change of the topic.
"I guess we are not quite the most popular address in town." His words were accompanied by a little smile. "In fact, you preferred this place because it keeps unwanted visitors at bay, Shalafi."
"Really? Did I? I don't seem to have many friends."
He eyed her strangely.
"Well, you have... me." he said finally.
"So we are friends, you and I?" Nima returned the glance.
"We are master and apprentice."
He folded his hands uneasily. Nima chose to ignore the answer. Either her stare or the topic seemed to give him some trouble.
"Oh, and do I have any friends besides you?" she replied.
For an instant his self-control failed him and he stared dumbfounded at her words. However, he rearranged the mask of coolness all to soon and when he spoke his voice was emotionless as always.
"Well, Shalafi, you have a... brother."
Now it was Nima's part to stare dumbfounded at her comrade.
"What?! My only friends are my kin?"
"You never demanded friendship, Shalafi. It is not a priority in your life." he stated plainly.
Nima was left speechless. No demand for friends? Not a priority? That was surely something to chew on.
"I think in that case, lovers are not a "priority" either."
He shook his had. Nima sighed.
"And what do I do all day?" she asked slightly desperate.
"You are one of the most powerful mages on Krynn. Maybe you already surpassed them all. You devoted your life to magic. So have I."
Uhh, that sounded like he was the all-work-no-fun-type of person. That explained a lot.
"Ah, and is there a connection between my devotion to magic and the way I look? Have I been always like this or was this the outcome of another magical accident?"
Dalamar shook his had once more.
"I don't think so. But you never told much about your past. However you have been like this since I applied for apprenticeship, and I think you already where like this when you fought in the war of the lance. All I know is that both things, eyes and skin color were the outcome of your final test of sorcery. But I don't know the circumstances very well. This has been nearly a decade ago."
"Maybe it was an accident." Nima said gravely. "Or maybe not. If there was anybody to tell me more..."
"Maybe your brother could tell you."
Dalamar favored the idea. He wanted his Shalafi back. He had tried not to show it, but he was deeply worried about his master's mental state. It was obvious that Raistlin was not himself at the moment. Not only his memory had been affected, his whole personality seemed to have suffered a lot. Since there was no safe magical option to restore his memory, they had to find other ways. Maybe a meeting with his brother Caramon would help Raistlin's mind grasp again what was out of reach at the moment. The young elf suspected his Shalafi to suffer from a severe kind of shock. Due to a backflow of magical energies, perhaps. Such cases had happened before. If this was just a shock induced by a mental overload then it was likely to heal sooner or later. Probably the healing process could be accelerated by reviving remembrances from the past. If his Shalafi's memory was stimulated in the right way, it would, perhaps, come back. At least it was worth trying.
And if by some strange twist of fate, the man in front of him was a persistent infiltrator though, than this journey would keep him away from the secrets the tower concealed. As long as Dalamar wasn't entirely sure that this man was truly his Shalafi, he owed him to keep his secrets hidden.
"We should probably visit your brother." Dalamar said. At the same time his Shalafi uttered the same Idea. Dalamar raised an eyebrow while his Shalafi chuckled at the coincidence.
"Jeez, I see we're going along the same lines of thinking." Raistlin said. "If you don't get any further where you are, just change the place. And by the way, I could use the feeling of sunshine on my skin and fresh air in my lungs. Yeah, let's pack for a trip."
Dalamar chose to ignore the exited grin on his Shalafi's face and nodded.
"Whatever you say, master."
